As Plateau prepares for LG polls

It’s five years since the last local government elections in Plateau State. With the LG polls now fixed for next week Tuesday, there is a lot of anxiety in the state.

With less than a week to the February 25 local government elections in Plateau State, all eyes seem to be on the state government’s readiness to get it right. Already, there are a lot of uncertainties and bickering from the political parties including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the opposition parties as well as the electorate.

Most commentators have expressed hope that the state government must have done all the necessary calculations to avoid the kind of crisis that followed the last LG elections of 2008.

The last LG polls which held in November 28, 2008 was marred by violence leading to the death of hundreds of people and destruction of properties worth millions of naira.

With the violence still fresh on the minds of the electorate, the state government has been cautious on how it handles this one leading to shifts in dates for the polls till the current one. This year, the local government polls was shifted thrice and there is still no certainty that it will not be shifted again. On the shifts, the state government explained that it was the prolonged strike by the LG workers in 2012 and the barrage of litigations by political parties as well as the security situation in the state that contributed to the delay.

The last elected council chairmen and councilors in the state were dissolved in 2012 after the expiration of their tenure and replaced with management committee chairmen. Now the state seems ready to go into the polls but two local governments have been excluded due to what the state government described as ‘security reports,’ a pattern residents say is part of government’s ploy to impose its candidates.

Due to the order, the contentious Jos North together with Wase LGA will be forced to observe events as elections are conducted in 15 out of the 17 LGA of the state next Tuesday.

A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Shedrack Best had in November 2013 directed PLASIEC to ensure that primary elections by political parties are not conducted in Jos North and Wase LGA.

Prior to the statement, there were insinuations that Jos North was to be excluded in the polls due to a rift between the governor and the senator representing Plateau North senatorial zone, Gyang Pwajok over which ethnic group should represent the party in the polls. The latter is said to have favoured an Afizere candidate so as not to give the impression that the government is desperate on a particular ethnic group.

The exclusion of the two has did that has not helped matters as it has led to further suspicions. Some are alleging that the ruling PDP did that to ensure the elections in Jos North is held on a separate date so that voters from Riyom and Jos South local governments can be mobilized to vote in Jos North to give PDP’s candidate an edge.

This had made those opposed to this to intensify efforts to see that the Jos north elections must be held on the same day with others.

The African Democratic Congress (ADC) while faulting the state government’s decision to exclude Jos North wondered why two by elections were allowed to take place in the area without any security breach. The ADC chairman Sabiu Ibrahim Musa had indicated that the state government may have other motives in excluding Jos North and called on the SSG to retract the statement. Treading the same line of argument, former deputy chairman of the council, Alh. Sani Mudi took a bash at the State government accusing Jang of not providing concrete reasons for the exclusion of Jos North in the polls.

On its part however, the All Progressives Congress (APC) insist that the state government had no business in their party affairs therefore had no right to stop parties from conducting primary elections. The party had gone ahead to file candidates for both Jos North and Wase LGA and instituted a court action for an interlocutors injunction restraining PLASIEC from conducting elections in the state.

APC said it was challenging PLASIEC, Anthony General of Plateau State and Plateau State House of Assembly in court because the present electoral law in the state does not in comply with the Constitution of Federal Government of Nigeria, 1999 as amended though the party allowed its candidates to be screenied by PLASIEC.

In the middle of all the drama, PLASIEC Chairman, Peter Dalyop announced that the six political parties to participate in the elections having undergone screening were the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP), Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) and the Democratic Peoples Party (DPP).

There are cracks also in the PDP due to the imposition of candidates during the primaries in some local governments. This has left many feeling aggrieved and shortchanged.

The APC and other opposition parties see this as an opportunity not to be missed, as sources indicate they are taking advantage of the cracks in the PDP to prove their might in the state. The APC organizing secretary, Pastor Joseph Dabit had said “with the imposition of most of the PDP candidates I am sure the APC has fielded better candidates that will win the local government elections.”

The party’s Chairman, John Shagaya also urged that all the parties in contest should be allowed a “free, safe playing ground,” while the security personnel should shun all sentiments. He urged the voters and candidates to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner and not to display rascality.

In Langtang North for instance, the PDP came under a lot of bashing having conducted primaries before Gideon Ladon emerged as the party’s flag bearer, defeating government’s preferred candidate, Binkur Nden. But sources now say the governor has decided on a more neutral candidate and has asked Ladon to step aside for Nanmwa Kumzhi to emerge as the party’s flag bearer. This decision didn’t go well with the people in the area who turned out in hundreds a few weeks ago to support Ladon who had to assure the crowd that he had successfully passed the screening by PLASIEC.

A group of PDP stakeholders representing Mangu LGA also cried foul saying the party primaries was marred by irregularities in which the list of delegates was subverted to ensure that the governors preferred candidate emerged as flag bearer. The group in a letter addressed to the state chairman of the PDP, Haruna Dabin and signed by Abednego Jiran, Oscar Mbangmbang and 16 others, said unless “salient issues” bedeviling the party are addressed, the party stands the risk of “tearing apart as well as losing the forth-coming Local Government Council elections.”

With the state government’s repeated expression of its readiness to ensure a free, fair and peaceful election, some political observers believe the body language of the present administration leaves much to be desired even as the electorates seem more conscious and are hoping for better elections.